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performance post-mortem


gkim

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Hello everyone, 

Wrapping up my first (true) feature in a week. I now understand what a different beast a feature is from shorts, commercial work, even broadcast. In an effort to get better at the craft, I was hoping to get thoughts and insights from you all. 

I'm trying to find the equivalent of "getting ahead" in the sound department. As always, I get that it depends: the mood at the moment, is the shoot behind, etc. Here's what I observed:

1. talking with the dp to see when she/he prefers to have the boom op come in. Some prefer to have the boom op in rehearsals, some want them only when 1st team is called. But once the boom op has annoyed the dp or 1st ac, I found it's a tough road back to getting cooperation from camera dept. 

2. finding the balance with the 1st ad. Some prefer to be gently reminded for wild, room tone, etc. while others seem irritable to hear from sound dept at all 

3. is it problematic when directors give verbal direction during a scene? Or is it only mentioned if post or the asst editor mentions it? 

4. I'd love to use the downtime to prep lav mics for the next scene, as this often takes a bit of time rigging and testing, but can only do so much ahead of time before wardrobe. 

5. would love to get wild, fx but again, without lock ups, probably wouldn't be helpful to post

6. tightening up the cart: organizing, cleaning, wrapping cables, cutting moleskin/topstick, inventory, etc.

7. the boom ops were kind of green, so talking with them about positioning, making friends with the 1st ac, being prepped

8. getting in sync with scripty for sound reports

How do you guys spend downtime and get ahead so the day is smooth and as stress free as possible? 

Lastly, there are more days than not that I feel grateful to be able to work at something I love. Every so often though, I feel annoyed at how the sound department is treated on set. We're often not included in discussions regarding the scene, left till last minute to fix lav problems, put on the spot, caught between requests from post and uncooperative AD's, and generally disrespected. Camera can take as long as needed to work out technical problems, new thoughts on lighting and positions, but god forbid if sound needs a moment to reposition a lav.

Apologies, small rant. 

Any insight, shared experience or thoughts (and criticisms) would be much appreciated. 

 

 

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Generally these days your experience is common with sound being last on the list. Camera gets whatever they want, most of the time. 

As far as your boom op goes, they should be seeing rehearsals. Sometimes there are private rehearsals that sound may or may not be included in, but there should always be a public marking rehearsal. The boom op needs to see the rehearsal to see blocking and who needs to be lav'd and if there are plants or second booms needed. The DP shouldn't be determining when a boom op can come in.

Some directors will talk all over scenes but not usually during dialogue. A kind reminder can be given but they will do what they want. Some directors will not talk during scenes. 

And the boom op should always be in before first team to check for shadows, etc. ADs and camera don't like it when sound causes delays. 

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Just a few comments to your points:

It's up to the 1st AD who and when people are allowed into a block

Sometimes it's just the director and actors only

After that heads of department but I like to get my boom operator in as they

are just as involved with the process as anybody and help share the job with the mixer

and then we can come to an agreement with whats possible - boom versus radio mikes

Also a good time for the sound department to understand what lighting is being used

and hence a ideal moment to relate to the DP and the gaffer

Atmos - well warn the 1st AD ahead of the last shot of a scene that you will need an atmos

and do that on a "we need" or "the editor needs" an atmos - it is not for just you

Verbal directions - well that's up to the director - just note "directions" on your log

I sometimes tell a director that if the action is difficult (and without dialogue) that please

direct to actor to make the shot easy.

Older directors would alway ask the mixer if they can verbally direct out of politeness!

Wild fx and even wild lines or voice overs - I always request to achieve them in my lunch break

This will get you on the good side of your 1st AD and save shooting time but always get a 3rd AD

to help achieve quiet and or find the actor(s)

Hope that helps

mike

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Firstly - You don't work for the DP. So you don't need to talk to him/her to see when they want the boom operator to come in. It's this fear of "the almighty camera" that has taken us down this path. On a low budget feature, which yours appears to be by description, they should be held at no higher regard than any other department head on set, and that includes you. Of course it's important to be professional, but you have a responsibility to the movie and the director and the investor and the producer to record the best sound possible. Most DPs couldn't give a shit about sound, and would sacrifice good dialog for some stupid bit of lighting nuance that nobody will notice. The audience will notice poorly recorded dialog. So don't cower to camera, particularly to a 1st AC, who is at the same "level" as a boom operator in the hierarchy, and "below" you in that sense.

Particularly on a low budget project, take every opportunity to get fx and ambiance. You will be a hero. Sometimes this needs to happen on the side. A good trick, as you appear to be working with a 2 person crew, is to set up a second boom in a stand away from crew and pointed toward where the camera is looking. Get dialog with your boom op and wires, as required, and use the 2nd boom as the accurate ambient track for what is being filmed. It costs no time. 

Directors seem to love talking through scenes these days. I don't get it really. But I would stay away from that conversation unless they are overlapping dialog, in which case I'd find a delicate and private way to ask the director to be careful as overlapping the actors will cause problems in post.

In terms of wild tracks, I like to get them on the spot with the correct ambience, acoustics, and performance. If the ambience is the problem, then I try to find a better place, and take care of it while lighting is happening somewhere else, but still as soon after as possible. If there is "performance" involved, always best to get director involved.

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Really helpful replies, thank you everyone

@mike, i'll definitely try grabbing fx during lunch

@robert - this is indeed low budget. great idea with a 2nd boom on a stand

I don't like feeling second to camera, but the reality is much of the crew (camera, art, director and dp) work regularly on other shows, so  i feel a bit on the outside. They're all polite enough, but if you've ever worked on a low budget shoot, sound has a tough time competing with camera for parity. 

Would any of you mind sharing how you try to stay ahead of the game?

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Am sorry to report that that "food chain" usually stays in effect as you move up into bigger, more expensive, famouser jobs.  Part of what a successful soundie learns is diplomacy, tact, making allies and picking your battles.  An ok mixer who is really good at these things will probably mix a better show than a great mixer who doesn't know when to shut up.  The really great ones seem to never have things come to a head with any other department, because they've charmed everyone along the way.  The days of the blustering dictatorial genius-mixer are over, in case you were wondering.

To the nitty-gritty of getting the job done: another thing the "great ones" are is fabulously prepared.  Plans A-Z and then some.  Backups for backups.  Superbly researched and assembled gear, practiced on, ruggedized, systemized and efficiently deployed.  Their crews are intimately involved in the prep for each job and know all the mixer's procedures, where everything is and how every task is to be done.  If I could impart a single piece of info to newbs it would be that the prep for a job is often what makes or breaks you--not just equipment, but weather gear, clothing, nutrition, transpo, deep script reading, communications with other depts and with the director--really being inside the project to the same degree the DP et al are.   I mean rehearsing...literally, setups, wraps, and all the small bits of the job.  Lots of what-if games, so that hardly anything will come up that you haven't planned for.

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It is probably the OCD in me, but I can wrap most of all of my boxes in pretty much pitch darkness. Its a hangover from my doc days when I would end up in some unlit corridor or wherever, with no or next to no light, and getting the hurry up from the rest of the crew to get in the van or whatever. It is probably also that I am just a bit nerdy about that everything has its place, and should always be there when I finish work. If there is an empty space in the box, then I need to know where that piece of kit is. I have very rarely lost any kit of my own accord.

Have fun y'all, Simon B

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